My Wish Book

I had just finished my appointment at Total Image with my hairdresser, Julie. I walked down the stairs at Oakville Place Mall and then through the Sears department store on my way to the car parking lot. In the hall to my right was a bin with the 2014 Sears Wish Books neatly stacked. It was August, but the Christmas fantasy had already begun. I quickly grabbed one, hoping I did not have to pay for it, and rushed home. I was anxious to scan through the Wish Book and discover my childhood all over again.

As a child, it was a wonderful event at our house when the “Wish Book” arrived. I studied it carefully, examining every page in the toy section. There were so many cool things I wished I could have. It was many years ago, but I remember it so clearly. With six kids and very little money, my parents establish one clear rule. We were allowed to “wish” for one gift from the “Wish Book”. One particular year, I chose a “Wood Burning Carving Set”. For several months I wished and hoped for its arrival.

Now 40-50 years later, with the same excitement, I was as interested to discover what toys were being offered in the “Wish book”. As I scanned each page, to my amazement, as if nothing had changed, the “Wood Burning Carving Set” was still being offered.  I imagined another child examining each page and making his/her own wishes. Nothing had changed it seemed. A child much like me was no doubt experiencing the same ritual and wish, but had to patiently wait. I wondered if anyone was again wishing….as I had, and what they were wishing for?

With a world seemingly in a spiral of global conflict, it is difficult to have hope and wish for anything. Many times I have asked the question, “why all the fighting, why all the conflict, why can’t we live peacefully together”? I wish it would stop.

So I began to make my 2014 Wish Book, only its contents were much different than what Sears had published.  My Wish Book contained the following:

-I wish for peace in a world of unending conflict.

-I wish religion was used to promote good and not evil.

-I wish our defence money was used to feed the poor, support the elderly, and care for the needy.

-I wish Putin would focus on Russia’s prosperity instead of Ukraine’s destruction.

-I wish world leaders would commit to building economies that provided opportunities for our youth.

-I wish ISIS/ISIL had respect for human life even while defending their cause, acceptable or not.

-I wish for a cure for cancer, and for domestic violence.

-I wish our children felt safe and secure.

-I wish the trillions of dollars being hoarded by multinationals in tax free havens, were redirected to provide education for every child in every country, in every community.

-I wish we could leave this world in better shape for the generation(s) behind us.

-I wish I had another Wording Burning Carving Set!

There is a phrase “without hope people will perish”. Wishing and hoping are somewhat the same. The DNA of every individual is filled with hope. The moment that hope is gone, we stop living, even though our hearts may beat, our lungs may breath and our legs may walk. But how do we maintain hope in such a hopeless world?

We do so because while evil exists, the good of man is greater. If each one of us committed to completing one act of kindness each day, in Canada alone, maybe 35 million acts of kindness could be performed each day. Even if we discounted this to account for the very young, we would still experience at least 25-30 million “kindness events”. An act of kindness does not have to be expensive or complicated. Sometimes the most simple of acts have the most profound effect.

I wish people were kinder to each other. What a different world it would be.

The cost of the “Word Burning Carving Set” was more expensive than what my parents would normally spend on a gift. The probability of my wish coming true was therefore low. But, I continued to wish, I never lost hope.

Many of the wishes I wrote above may have a very low probability of coming true. But I will not lose hope. I will not succumb to those who wish to destroy this world. I will not allow myself to perish in their mindless state. I will always have hope.

An Englishmen once said, “If you think you have had an awful day, just remember tomorrow could be worse!”

I will never have an awful day. Not because I think tomorrow could be worse, but because I believe tomorrow will always be better!

So whatever your circumstance, your challenge, your conflict, always keep an attitude of hope. Because without hope, you/I will perish, and we just don’t want that to happen. So create your wish book, your hope book and believe that these things will be, if not today, than tomorrow or the next day.

Share your hope in a tangible way by completing an act of kindness for someone each and every day, starting tomorrow! Thanks.

Merv

Your comments are welcomed!

E. merv@mervhillier.com

T. 416.409.6378